At Jewish funerals, the traditional greeting to mourners is “I wish you a long life”. I can see where they’re coming from, but a long life is not always a blessing.Here in Britain, one in five 80 year olds already suffers from dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society has just published a report which suggests that if current trends continue, we … Continue Reading
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To Celebrate A Life
A celebration of the life of Bob Barclay, 1954 – 2014
It’s easy to forget that our lives are getting longer. The average life expectancy when I was born in the 1950’s was 65: now men can expect to live to 78 and women a further four years, to 82. And most deaths come at the end of a long life: they may be sad, they may come … Continue Reading
A celebration of the life of Evelyn MacArthur, 1935 – 2014
I’m not often asked to conduct memorial ceremonies, which is a shame because when they’re like Evelyn’s, they’re truly wonderful. Evelyn chose to donate her body to medical science, so the family invited literally hundreds of friends to join them at The Cornhill Hotel near Biggar, where I, her brother Gordon, her son Gordon and … Continue Reading
Keren and Stephen’s Humanist Wedding at Linlithgow Burgh Halls
Keren and Stephen’s friends Paul and Fiona set them up on a blind date not once, but twice!
Alex and Christina’s Humanist Wedding at Prestonfield House
Tim helped us realise that we should make our ceremony as personal as we wanted.
Let’s Talk About Death, Baby
I know, this is meant to be a blog about weddings, but I just had to share this brilliant piece by a physicist called Aaron Freeman that was sent to me today by Joanne & Colin, who I’m looking forward to marrying next June at Keavil House. It was posted on a Facebook group you may or … Continue Reading
Gemma & Colin’s Humanist Wedding at Norton House
When people ask me what I do as a celebrant, I sometimes talk about my ‘Virtual Parish’. As a celebrant, I conduct more funerals than I do weddings, but they are both ‘a celebration of life’, and just as at almost every wedding, someone comes up and tells me it’s the best they’ve ever been … Continue Reading
Fee and Richard’s Humanist Wedding on the beach at Orocco Pier
We had such an amazing day and everyone commented on how special our ceremony was. In fact most people have said it’s the best wedding they have ever been to! I think the barometer for success is also that at least three different people asked for your details for their wedding/funeral(!)/naming ceremony!
The Father of the Bride Speaks…
I’m used to getting emails from couples I’ve married, but this is a first – a message from the parents of the bride, whose wedding I conducted last weekend over in Fife, at Balbirnie Castle! It was a great day, and I’m pretty sure that Victoria and Will enjoyed it too, but as they’re away … Continue Reading
Say ‘I do’ to the Humanist touch when tying the knot
I got a call the other day from Catherine Salmond at the Edinburgh Evening News. She was writing a story because Elizabeth Bell, the wedding co-ordinator at Houston House Hotel, had got in touch with the paper to say that 1 in 10 of their weddings this year are going to be Humanist ceremonies. So we had a chat … Continue Reading